There are over six million men and women nationwide who have been issued a commercial driver's license, most of whom drive many highway miles a year. During the course of their driving, they switch on and off the truck's operating lights and accessories more often than other drivers. Like most highway vehicles, the driver while seated reaches up to the dash board and chooses from a predetermined layout of switches to operate a specific accessory.
One problem with the current layout is that while driving a commercial vehicle, this reach can be considerable due to the layout and the size of the truck cabs. The reach sometimes requires more than just movement of the arms and fingers of the driver. In many instances, the driver may lean forward or sideways leaving the view of the vehicles side view mirrors. The physical movement of the driver while reaching for a specific switch often breaks the concentration that has developed, thereby increasing the possibility of an accident.
An important aspect of driving is signalling lane changes and turns, which when driving a commercial vehicle usually occurs while shifting gears. Therefore, it would be beneficial to allow a truck driver to shift gears while simultaneously switching on and off directional signals with the same operating hand.
The present invention contemplates overcoming these problems by centralizing a plurality of commonly used accessory switches on the shifter pole of a vehicle.